Rotel has thoroughly updated its A10 and A11 integrated amplifiers and CD11 player to give them second-generation status. The fittingly named A10MKII, A11MKII and CD11MKII follow in the footsteps of other Rotel 14 Series components (namely the A12, A14 and CD14) which have spawned sequels over the past two years.
The trio remains competitively priced in the budget-to-midrange market but benefits from upgrades to “critical components” and circuit design. The A10MKII amplifier, for example, supposedly features more than 65 component upgrades over the original, including in the power and amplifier gain stages, in the name of improved performance. The Class AB, 50-watt-per-channel integrated is well furnished in the analogue department with three RCA pairs and a moving-magnet phono stage, plus a 3.5mm headphone output, though the same can’t be said for the digital side of things – this is a pure analogue-only design.
